


Eyes on the Horizon

by SixthSeason



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Characters of color, F/F, Fluff, Hawke of Color - Freeform, Humor, Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 10:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3525584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixthSeason/pseuds/SixthSeason
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The promised voyage with the pirate has gone sour when Azure Hawke is welcomed to the open sea with a gift of seasickness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eyes on the Horizon

She didn’t dare move.

The uneasiness in her stomach had just quelled for the first time in hours; a damned miracle in her eyes given on how bad it had been churning and lurching for the past several days. Azure remain bundled up tightly in the blankets, shutting her eyes and taking several deep breaths, slowly she uncurled herself from the fetal position she lay in. So far, so good. To be able to sit up without her innards causing her any more grievances would be a blessing. But it was not to be so. The boat dipped down hard before tipping back up, undoing all of Azure’s progress in a moment, sending her stomach careening and bouncing all around in her abdomen, and prompting her to quickly cover her mouth with a hand to prevent making a mess in the captain’s cabin.

Azure was hardly the crying type, but she had never wanted to cry more than in those few moments. She was absolutely miserable at the worst possible time. Her fantasies of being up on deck under the endless expanse of sky and sailing toward the constantly evading horizon as the boat chugged along in the cerulean sea were crushed. All because she lacked a proper pair of sea legs. Or maybe she had some. And maybe they shriveled up and fell off because she never used them. Whatever the case, all this rocking, swelling, lurching, and bobbing of the ship was making her sicker than a Mabari who’d managed to eat a handful of deathroot.

Seasickness aside, if there was anything that made her the most upset about this whole predicament was the fear that she’d crushed Isabela’s plans in the process.

Isabela had a great love for the sea and sailing, as was made perfectly clear. Each time she spoke of it, she’d get this distant look in her eye as a smile spread across her face. Azure swore she was sailing on a ship right there in her mind as she would describe the wonders of sailing on the ocean. With how she described it, it sounded like one of the best things to ever experience in the world. And sure enough, Azure was sold when Isabela had asked her to sail away together, and practically jumped aboard the ship Isabela had managed to talk Castillion out of. And, obviously, their plans of sailing away had gone sour within mere hours of the voyage when Azure fell ill. But she refused Isabela’s countless offers to take her to the nearest port.

If she could take on Darkspawn, Qunari, and a stubborn Mabari who would rather drag his owner through Hightown when bathtime came around, she could handle a few waves! Couldn’t she?

Another lurch of the ship and her stomach said otherwise, and Azure whimpered and dropped her head between her legs, lacing her fingers into her hair tightly and sighing. A knock on the cabin door didn’t coax her from her position, and she didn’t look up when it was opened.

The mattress dipped a little under added weight, and Azure felt a warm hand slip under the back of her loose tunic to rub her back soothingly. “Haven’t heard from you in a while.” Isabela said gently, using her other hand to brush Azure’s black hair from out of her face. “How’s your stomach faring?”

“Remember that time where Mabarki got into Anders’ alchemical set and chewed up his supply of deathroot?” Azure asked.

“Ooh. That bad, huh?”

“Worse. Much, _much_ , _ **much** _ worse.” She sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of Isabela’s hand trailing up and down her back. “I feel like whatever’s inside me is going to wind up on the floor if I move wrong.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to move right.” The pirate chirped, standing up from the mattress and grabbing Azure’s arms to pull her to her feet. “Up you get, Hawke. C’mon!”

“Isabela, that’s really not the best ide—- _ **urgh.**_ ” She was cut off by a backflip of her stomach, and she had to brace herself against Isabela as her legs nearly gave out from under her. “Just toss me overboard.” She whimpered. “At least there’s no waves at the bottom of the Sea, right?”

“You’d probably get just as sick with the currents down there. Now come on, follow me.” She took her hand and led her up to the deck. “Take a few deep breaths and face towards the sun.” She instructed, leading her toward the edge of the boat.

She did as was told, taking a few deep breaths and facing in the direction of the sun, her eyes snapping open when the uneasiness began to subside ever so slightly.

“There you go!” Isabela chirped. “Feeling any better?”

“A little.”

“Being holed up under deck with all that stale, stagnant air doesn’t help seasickness, Hawke. It only makes it worse. It’s like—-” She paused, fishing around for the right analogy. “It’s like sitting in a pile of your own sick.”

“Isabela, that’s _disgusting!_ ” Azure cringed.

“Exactly. Which is why—common sense— you shouldn’t do it. You’ve got to come up once in a while for some fresh air. And a little sun, too. Look at how pale you’ve gotten.”

Sure enough, Azure’s brown skin had somehow managed to take on a slight ashen color. “Well, wanting to vomit your innards out tends to do that sometimes.”

Isabela chuckled and shook her head. “I’ll bet. It’ll take a while to get used to—-trust me on that—-but once you overcome that sickness, you’ll be able to traverse the sea without so much as a single jump of your stomach.” Placing her hands on Azure’s waist, she angles her ever so slightly. “Look to the horizon.”

“Why? What’s over there?”

“Just focus on it. Try not to move your eyes from it.”

It was a bit of a task at first, with each white crested wave that rose up from the Sea, her eyes would trail away from the horizon for a second or two. “What am I focusing on, exactly? Don’t get me wrong, that’s a lovely horizon and all, but what is this accomplishing?”

“It’s keeping you from focusing on how the ship’s moving. It’s constant, and it’s there to ground you. Never shaking or faltering with all the waves around it. You can always look to it, no matter how dark the sky or how rough the seas.” She explained, her own eyes locking onto the horizon. “It’s always there.”

Azure couldn’t help but give her a sideways glance, her lips tugging upward into a smile. Reaching over to her, she briefly touches the red band tied on her upper arm before her fingers slide down to lace into hers. “You remind me of the horizon. Always there, no matter how dark or rough things get.” She said softly. “And you never shake or falter despite what you may say. You’re like an anchor to me——ow! Ow!” Azure laughed when Isabela raised her free hand to land a few punches on her arm. “What? It’s true!”

“So help me, Hawke, if you breathe a word of that to anyone else—-!”The pirate warned with a glare, her fists still raised.

“Bollocks….you didn’t even let me get to the part where I compare you to a ship-rocking storm…”

Isabela huffed and landed a quick swat on her bottom as she leaned against the side of the boat and looked out over the horizon, smiling. “Maybe I should have left you below deck.”

“Ouch.” Azure jutted her lower lip out as she joined her, resting her head against Isabela’s. “And maybe I should have taken you up on that offer for you to leave me behind at the port.”

“Nonsense. Who would keep me company?”

“Two hands, ten fingers. You wouldn’t be lonely for a long, long while.”

She shook her head and laughed out loud. “Maker, you’re insufferable.” She snickered as she bumped the side of her head gently against hers.

“You love it.” She grinned, leaning over to press a kiss on her cheek. 

"That I do, Hawke.”


End file.
